Introducing the SLTN Serves ‘Stories Worth Sipping’ Cocktail Competition finalists
Apple of My Eye
By Ewan Robertson, of Dragonfly, Edinburgh
“When looking back over my years in hospitality, in a collection of great memories there’s one in particular that has served as the starting point for where I am in my career today: my first ever credible achievement.
Years ago, I entered a simple rum, apple and cinnamon sour into an internal competition at an old job, and it won. My drink got to feature on the menu as a special and even went on to become a permanent fixture over the winter.
“Getting to see my friends’ reactions after trying it and being able to say I made something people really enjoyed was the first time I ever thought to myself ‘hey, maybe I can actually do this for a career’ – a thought that helped me realise what next steps I wanted to take and has continued to drive me to this very day.
I wanted to create a drink that served as a reinterpretation of that first ever drink to fit with all the changes in my skill set and most importantly, my palate, since.
It still keeps the flavours of an apple pie just like I tried to mimic in the original cocktail years ago, just served with a slight bit more style this time.
A tribute to my first drink to ever win anything, remade to reflect where I am in my career now, with a fun little nod to my first ever professional competition thrown in for good measure.”
Apple of my Eye:
• 30ml Smith and Cross Rum
• 20ml spice-infused Falernum
• 25ml baked green apple cordial
• 6 drops tiki bitters
• 50ml Cava
Garnished with a Calvados atomiser spray and served alongside green apple Tamalitoz.
